"In short, our review of the facts has concluded that Cpl. Thibault's belief that he was in danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm was reasonable," said T.J. Donovan, Chittenden County state's attorney.

Thibault said Wayne Brunette, 49, advanced on him with a large shovel at his Randy Lane house on Nov. 6.

Donovan said he considered that shovel a deadly weapon and believes Thibault acted in self-defense.

He added that Thibault's use of deadly force was "reasonably necessary to repel that force," something echoed by Chief Michael Schirling of the Burlington Police Department.

"It would not have changed the outcome of this particular incident, unfortunately," Schirling said when pressed about why neither a Taser nor pepper spray was used. "There's no guarantee that either one of those could have stopped the threat." He added that two officers involved in the Randy Lane incident didn't have Tasers on them.

The victim's family said in a statement read by the state's attorney that Brunette had a history of mental illness. They had no comment on the findings except to say the announcement, "...should not obscure the fact that Wayne Brunette was a loving father, son and husband and the family's hopes are that the memory of Wayne will not solely be about the last moments of his life."

Donovan added the family wants more collaboration between mental health officials and the police, something Schirling pledged to strive for.

"Efforts to improve mental health systems have been on-going for many years," he said. "This tragedy is a vivid reminder that more needs to be done."

Brunette's classmate, Burlington City Councilor David Hartnett, plans to introduce a resolution on Jan. 7 asking police to look into how mental health-related phone calls are handled.

"To make sure there's procedures in place that will give the tools that might help prevent something like this happening again. And it might be too late for the Brunette family, but it might not be too late for the next family," said Hartnett.

He said he fears this deadly incident is deterring other families with loved ones who suffer from mental illness from calling for police assistance.